Its Memorial Day, so enjoy your day of work, enjoy your bbq’s and your time on the water. Summer is officially here!
But also, take a few moments to remember those you fought and died to give you the wonderful freedom you have!
13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13 (New International Version)
Hey the Bucs Won the state Soccer Tournament! How Awesome is that! Have a great day! Be Strong!
Almost every morning when I awake I look at on my back porch I find one of our cats sitting in the corner of the porch sleeping. It’s usually Todd, the cat that likes us. But today it was Bruce, the traitor. We call him that because he spends more time at the neighbor’s house, in the neighbor’s garage and eating the neighbor’s food then doing the same on our side of the street. The “crazy cat lady” across the street has him under her spell. So it brought me great joy to see him willingly sleeping on our porch this morning. The prodigal had come home.
So I sat on the edge of the bed willing myself to get up, looking at Bruce and thinking about our own lives. I wonder if the joy I felt this morning is similar to the joy that God feels when we willingly give ourselves to him. And I wonder if the jealously and anger I feel when I see Bruce partaking of the temptation that the crazy cat lady has to offer doesn’t some how parallel to the jealously and anger the God must feel when we decide to strike out on our own and indulge ourselves in our own ways.
For me this had been a bright spot in a morning filled with anxiety as I try to figure out how to accomplish 48 hours worth of activities in 8 hours. Maybe I should learn something from Bruce, and stretch out on God’s back porch, let him handle the stress and bask in the light of his joy.
8Come near to God and he will come near to you. James 4:8
Have a great Holiday weekend. Stay close to our God and Savior.
Last night I think I witnessed the longest soccer game in the history of the world. That’s unofficial, but check this out. After my team, the Bucs, were completed dominated, at least possession wise, for the first 58 minutes of the game, the traditional summer weather pattern produced its traditional afternoon thunderstorms and whamo, we were in a one hour lightning delay. ( On a side note, I thought that maybe I had missed the supposed ‘rapture’ during this part of the game. While the players where pulled from the field, and the rain still a few miles away, I decided to run to the restroom, while everyone just milled around waiting for something to happen. After a rather long line in the restroom, I exited, to see the wind whipping around in circles, the rain starting to fall and to my surprise everyone and everything off of the soccer field. For a moment I thought I was left behind. – oh TMI I know, back to the game)
Before this break, the Bucs were beat. Their faces said it, their body language said it. They were struggling to keep up, but at least they had kept their opponent out of the goal. After the lightning break, they were completely different. They were renewed, focused, determined, and just barely missed several chances to get the ball into the goal. The game continued scoreless for the remaining 22 minutes and the 30 minutes of extra time- which lead to the famed shootout. Fortunately, the Bucs put in 3 while keeping the opponent to only 2, to earn quite an impressive hard earned victory almost 5 hours after the kickoff, that really was the product of a renewing of their focus.
Whats interesting to me is how our days are like this some times, and for me yesterday was. Yesterday, I was being mastered by my insane schedule and the pressure of the world and work. I felt similar to the Bucs – running around, chasing a ball, and having to take a highly defensive posture to survive. However, this is not where we want to be. We want to be living for our master, not being mastered by the world. It times like this that it may be best to declare a lightning break and regroup and refocus. With a renewed mind, you can continue to transform yourself into a champion of life.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:30-31 (New International Version)
Man, I am stoked today. But before I tell you why, let me apologize for the erratic nature of the feed the last few days, I am not sure what’s up there, but hopefully it will settle down today.
Anyway, I am stoked, its the last day of school, my nephews soccer team is one game closer to wining the Tennessee State Championship ( 3-0 victory last night) and I get to live another day in service to my Lord and Savior – Mr JC.
So lets through out a quick Psalm of praise today:
Psalm 117
1 Praise the LORD, all you nations;
extol him, all you peoples.2 For great is his love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
Praise the LORD.
Its the end of school, but its the first day of the rest of your life, what are you going to do with it?